Jim Donaldson: Patriots talk a great game, too

Saturday

“They’re the best team we’ve faced all year. They have a ton of talent.”

"They're the best team we've faced all year. They have a ton oftalent."

-Patriots QB Tom Brady, talking about the Ravens

The Patriots are sweet talkers, not trash talkers.

They'd sooner give an opponent their game plan than provide himwith bulletin-board material.

They prefer patting an opponent on the back to getting in hisface.

The Patriot Way is that you go out of your way to say nicethings about the team you're playing - kill 'em with kindness priorto annihilating 'em on game day.

Brady's not simply trying to say all the right things about theRavens, the Pats' opponent in Sunday afternoon's AFC ChampionshipGame at Gillette Stadium.

In this case, he is absolutely right.

He is stating fact, not spouting fiction.

Yes, he's being polite. But he's also being accurate.

He's as on target with his assessment as he is with most of hispasses.

The Ravens are, indeed, the best team the Patriots have facedthis season.

Through good fortune, good scheduling - and, yes, some very goodplay on their part - the 14-3 Patriots have managed to advance towithin one win of the Super Bowl without one of those victoriescoming against a team that finished the 2011 season with a winningrecord.

The Ravens, on the other hand, have had seven such wins: Twoapiece over the Steelers - who beat the Patriots in Pittsburgh inOctober - the Bengals and the Texans; plus one over the 49ers,who'll be playing the Giants for the NFC title Sunday night in SanFrancisco.

None of those teams, however, has the offensive firepower of thePatriots, although the Ravens' first win over Houston (20-13) cameearly in the season, when the Texans still had Matt Schaub atquarterback. The one team the Ravens faced that comes closest topacking the explosiveness of the Patriots is the Chargers, whotrounced them in San Diego, 34-14.

But as Brady points out, Baltimore does, indeed, have a ton oftalent.

Especially on defense, where Brady will be harassed by the likesof the relentless Ray Lewis, the tenacious Terrell "T-Sizzle"Suggs, veteran safety Ed Reed and massive, 350-pound nose tackleHaloti Ngota, just to name a few of Baltimore's best.

"They're great players," Brady said. "You can't take plays offagainst those guys. You have to see where they're at on every play,because they're guys who can change the game."

One thing never changes about the Patriots. They don't tug onSuperman's cape. They don't wave a red flag in front of a bull. Andthey go out of their way not to provoke an opponent before agame.

Particularly one as talented as the Ravens.

"I have a lot of respect for them and their ability to play andperform under pressure," said Brady, who knows a thing or two aboutperforming under pressure.

Actions, for the Patriots, speak much louder than words. ForBelichick-coached teams, preparation is more important thanmotivation. Emotion doesn't carry a team much beyond the openingkickoff. Execution is what counts.

That's why Brady, a two-time Super Bowl MVP who'll be playing inhis sixth conference championship game, can be counted on in theclutch.

He loves to have the ball in his hands in the biggest games.

And the only game bigger than this one against the Ravens is thenext one, against either the Niners or the Giants.

"It's playoff football," Brady said. "The focus heightens, theawareness heightens. It's not like in the regular season, where yougo: 'Oh, OK, we'll get 'em next week.' There is no 'next week.'"

Brady's right about that, too.

There is, of course, "next season."

But Tom Terrific won't have that many more of those, either.

He'll be 35 next summer, and knows full well that his bestchance to win another championship is right here, right now.

"It's hard to get to this game," he said. "There are some greatteams that aren't playing this week."

Brady's been to four Super Bowls, winning three and comingwithin seconds of winning the other. He's as eager to get to hisfifth, two weeks from now in Indianapolis, as he was to go to hisfirst, back in 2001, when the Patriots upset the high-scoring Ramsin New Orleans.

"I've been very fortunate," he said. "I've been in a great placewhere a bunch of teammates have committed to make it to thispoint.

"Every team is talented. There are 32 teams that start the yearwith the hope of being in this position. There's nothing thatanyone can say before Sunday at 3 o'clock that will have aninfluence on the game. The team that is going to win is the teamthat plays the best. Hopefully, we can go out there and do a greatjob."

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